Brush attachment for grain-cleaning machines.



m; 70!,865. A Patented l une I0, 1902. A. T. FEBRELL.

BRUSH ATTACHMENT EUR GRAIN CLEANING MACHINES 7 (Application filed May24, 1901.) (No Model.)

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Patented lune I0, I902.

.A. T. FERRELL, BRUSH ATTACHMENT FOR GRAIN CLEANING MACHINES.

(Application filed May 24. 1901.)

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(No Model.)

ATTORNEY II H H ll

WITNESSES: Y1, 5/%W UNITE STATES ALBERT T. FERRELL, OF SAGINAl/V,MICHIGAN.

PAT NT OFFICE.

BRUSH ATTACHMENT FOR GRAIN-CLEANING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 701,865, dated June 10,1902.

' Application filed May 24, 1901.

To allwhom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT 'l. FERRELL, a citizen'of the United States,residing at Saginaw, in the county of Saginaw and State of Michigan,have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Brush Attachmentsfor Grain-OleaningMachines; andIdo hereby declare the following'to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention is a traveling-brush attachment for cleaning'the screensofgrain-cleaning machines; and the invention consists in certain novelconstructions and operation of parts, which will be fully set' forth inthis specification.

The objects of the invention are, first, to

produce a device for operating the traveling brushes of a grain-cleaningmachine, which will be simple in construction and operation and notliable to get out of order; second,-to provide means for easily andquickly adjusting the pressure of the brush against the screen fromoutside the machine, third, to provide a mechanism for traversing thebrushes back and forth across their screens, and to so construct itthat. it can be located in any convenient part of the machine Where itwill be accessible for renewal and repair.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which--Figure 1 is a side elevation of a grain-clean ing machine embodying myinvention, the frame of the machine being broken away'in parts. Fig. 2'is a front elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the sliding brush-bracket. .Fig. 4 is anenlarged section on the line'w wof Fig. 3. Fig. 5 isa front View of theshaft-bracket. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the same, partly sectional.Fig. 7 is a diametral section of the shaft-carrying cam. Fig. 8 is afront view of the cam. Fig. 9 is a part-sectional front elevationof thebrush-carrying device and the traversing mechanism that operates it.Fig. 10 is a part-sectional top view.

As is clearly shown in the drawings, the device consists in a shaft 1below each screen and extending across the frame of the machine, eachshaft carrying a slidable bracket 2, which supports the brush 3 andmoves it side of the machine.

traversing mechanism.

Serial No. 61,716. (No ar sidewise across the under side of the screen4, which it is to clean.

The object of the shaft 1 is to form a support and guide for thetransversely-moving brush. The brush is mounted in the bracket 2, whichslides along the shaft 1 from side to The brush, which is usually madeequal in length to the length of the screen, is supported intermediateits ends by the shaft 1, so that it may rotate sufficiently toautomatically assume an even bearing throughout its length against theunder side of the-screen. The ends of the shaft 1 are supported byeccentric. boxes, so that the shaft can be raised or lowered, thusraising or lowering the brush relatively to the screen, to regulate itspressure against the screen. The details of' construction will bedescribed further-on in'this specification.

In order to move the bracket 2 back and forth along the shaft 1, asabove indicated,I connect the'bracket with a traversing mechanismconstructed in the following manner: Cords 5, parallel with the shaft 1,are fixed at one end to the bracket '2 and at the other end to thetransversely-slidingblock 6 of the This latter mechanism can be locatedin any convenient part of the machine-frame or outside it if desired.

By pulling one of the cords 5 the bracket 2 .is slidalong the shaft landthe brush is moved along thescreen to, one side, and by pulling theother cord 5 the brush is moved back to the other side of the, screen.This movement of the cords 5 is accomplished by moving the sliding block6 back and forth in its frame 6. The function of the sliding block 6 isto impart simultaneous reciprocating movement to the brushesinpthe-rnachine. Th'ecord 5 passes over a pulley 5 at each end of theshaft and over pulleys 5 at each end of the frame 6 As is shown in Figs.1 and 2,-any number of traveling brushes may bese'cured to and operatedby a single sliding block (5. The-sliding block is preferably actuatedby the mechanism shown in Figs 9 and 10, infwhich 6 and 6 aresprocket-wheels located nearthe ends of the frame 6 and carrying acontinuous chain 6 One link of this chain carries a laterally-projectingfinger or rod 8, which engages the vertical slot 6" of the sliding block6. Rotating either of the chain-wheels moves the sliding block along theframe 6 and im parts a corresponding transverse movement to the brushesconnected therewith. W'hen the sliding block reaches either of thechainwheels, the link which carries the projecting finger passes aroundthe wheel, and the horizontal movement of the block gradually ceases andthen reverses as the finger 8 moves vertically in the slot 6". By thismeans the brush is made to travel uniformly along the screen from oneside to the other, gradually reducing its speed until it stops at theend of its travel and then gradually increasing the speed as itcommences the return movement, thus avoiding all shock and noise inreversing.

In practiceI prefer to actuate the sprocketwheels from the main shaft orother moving part of the machine by a speed-reducing gear comprising abevel-gear 9, driven bya pinion 10, which is operated by a pulley 11.

I prefer to mount the shaftl in the following manner: To each side ofthe machineframe I secure a bracket 19, having an opening 12 for thepassage of the cord 5 and carrying a pulley 12 to guide the cord. Thebracket has a circular opening 12, which serves as a bearing in which isrevolnbly mounted the shaft-carrying cam 7, having aneccentrically-located opening 7 to receive the shaft. The shaft has ahand-wheel 1 at each end, and by means of this hand-wheel the cam '7 canbe revolved, raising or lowering the shaft as desired to adjust thepressure of the brushes 3 against the screen 4 and to facilitate theremoval and replacing of the screen in the machine without injury to thebrush by the screen-frame. This movement of the shaft 1 is clearlyindicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 5.

In order to prevent particles of grain 3.1M dirt from adhering to theshaft 1 and causing the bracket 2 to bind as it passes back and forthalong the shaft, I construct the bearing of the bracket 2 as shown inFig. 4. The hub 13 is cored out or counterbored in the middle of itslength, so as to come into contact with the shaft at its ends only. Theends of the hub are exteriorly threaded and a packinggland 13 is screwedthereon. The space l3 between the packing-gland and the end of the hubis preferably filled with candle-wicking or similar packing and operatesas in ordinary glands to keep the shaft clean and to prevent dirt fromentering the hub. The packing is omitted from the drawing for the sakeof clearness.

By the means above described I have produced a traveling brusharrangement for grain-cleaning machines, which is simple inconstruction, has few moving parts, and can be easily adjusted orrepaired by mechanics of ordinary skill. \Vhen a number of brushes areused, it is not necessary to duplicate the driving mechanism, since onesliding block will operate as many brushes as desired, moving them allsimultaneously and with uniform speed.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. A screen-cleaning device comprising in combination: a brush-carryingbracket slidably mounted on a shaft in proximity to the screen; aneccentric-carrying bracket at each end of the shaft; an eccentricrevolubly mounted in each of said brackets and supporting the shaftwhereby the shaft and bracket can be adjusted toward or from the screen;a reciprocating block movable between guides; cords connecting thebrushcarrying bracket with said block; sprocketwheels near theextremities of travel of the block; a sprocket-chain on said wheels,carrying a laterally-projecting finger engaging a vertical slot in saidblock to traverse it along its guides; and means for rotating saidsprocket-wheels, substantially as described.

2. In a screen-cleaning device the combination with a shaft parallelwith the surface of the screen and having eccentrics near its endswhereby the shaft can be adjusted relatively to the screen; of abrush-carrying bracket slidably mounted 011 the shaft by means ofbearings having packing-boxes, for removing dirt from said shaft;together with means for traversing said bracket along said shaft,substantially as described.

3. In a screen-cleaning device, a shaft arranged parallel with thesurface of the screen; a brush-carrying bracket slidably mounted on theshaft; eccentrics near the ends of said shaft whereby the shaft can beadjusted relatively to the screen; and means for traversing the brushcarrying bracket back and forth along said shaft.

4. In a screen-cleaning device, the combination with a shaft parallelwith the surface of the screen; of eccentrics near its ends whereby theshaft can be adjusted relatively to the screen; of a brush-carryingbracket slidably mounted on the shaft by means of a bearing intermediateits ends which permits a limited rotary motion around the shaft wherebythe brush may assume an even hearing throughout its length against theunder side of the screen, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT T. FERRELL. lVitnesses:

I. GOULD, WILLIAM STEPHENS.

